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Wednesday, 1 June 2016

"Niger Delta Avengers are criminals" – Niger Delta leaders

Some leaders of the Niger Delta region under the aegis of Concerned Niger Delta Leaders have described the recent attacks on the nation’s oil facilities by the Niger Delta Avengers as a criminal act targeted at destroying the heritage of the people of the region.

The National Coordinator of the group, Chief Mike Loyibo, said during a press conference in Abuja that the acts perpetrated by the group, the NDA, were unacceptable not only to the Federal Government but also to the people of the area.

“We have for some time watched with utmost dismay the manner in which the Niger Delta Avengers, a group with an aimless agenda, has been destroying our common heritage and the economic mainstay of the country through the vandalisation of critical government infrastructure and oil installations,” he said.

Loyibo who addressed journalists alongside a former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Ebebi Peremobowei, said that while the agenda of the group was not clear, their actions, which had threatened the unity of the country, should be condemned by all well-meaning stakeholders.

Other members of the group are a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Francis Tabai, former Military Administrator of the Old Bendel State, Gen. John Yeri, the First Military Administrator of Rivers State and the His majesty, the Amayanabo of Twon Brass, Alfred Diete-Spiff.

The Niger Delta leaders called on the group to lay down their arms as no developmental effort could yield any positive result in an environment of violence.

Loyibo said that while violence was not the solution of human problems, the leaders were in support of the decisive steps being taken by the President to prevent vandals from sabotaging the efforts of the government to bring development to the oil rich region.

The group, however, urged the military to carry out the ongoing operation to fish out the members of the group with caution as the last operation in Gbaramatu resulted in the suffering of innocent people including children, the aged and women.

It also called on the President to provide critical infrastructure to the area, give serious consideration to the region in the next round of political appointments and also ensure the takeoff of academic activities at the Maritime University, Okerenkoko.